More International Scrutiny for Greece

As eurozone finance ministers prepare to meet on Friday, Greece is expecting international creditors to inspect the country more often after its bailout ends in August.

In comments to the U.K.’s Financial Times on Thursday, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said there would probably be three or four assessments per year of how Athens is implementing reforms and running the economy after Aug. 20.

Greece has an enormous debt of €248 billion ($300 billion) and has been on financial assistance for years from a range of international creditors, including the EU, the IMF and World Bank.

This aid has come at a price, particularly in the form of austerity policies as well as a demanded raft of unpopular reforms pushed through by the Greek government.

The implementation of these reforms will be monitored by creditors in the years ahead as it seems likely that debt relief — if not debt forgiveness — will be tied to how Greece’s post-bailout economy is working.

However, Tsakalotos insisted to the FT that the reform plan and Athens’ strategy for growing the economy are “our own growth plan and its ownership is important for us”.

“We don’t want to surprise anyone, whether it’s the financial markets or the institutions,” he added.